"Dammit! This arena limits me too much. How can a piece of scrap metal be this annoying?"
Piccolo grumbled as he dodged another torrent of lava from Magetta. Suddenly, Magetta froze in place, his fighting spirit seeming to evaporate instantly.
Piccolo blinked, stunned for a second, before realizing this was his chance.
"HAA!"
Piccolo surged with power. His white aura erupted with such intensity that the energy shockwave shattered the ring's barrier into a million shards.
Huff... puff... huff... puff...
With the enclosed space broken, Piccolo greedily inhaled the fresh air from outside.
"Special Beam Cannon!"
A spiraling beam of concentrated energy slammed into the demoralized Magetta, the force of the impact pushing the massive robot straight out of the ring.
"Auta Magetta has been knocked out of the ring! The winner is Piccolo!" the announcer declared immediately.
The spectators were momentarily stunned by the sudden turn of events.
"What... what just happened?"
"He was about to win! How did he lose all of a sudden?!" Champa cried out in disbelief.
"Ho ho ho. Metalmen are extremely sensitive. Their mental states are quite fragile; if they are insulted, they lose their will to fight," Vados explained.
"Very few people know that. I take it you didn't, Lord Champa?"
Hearing Vados's explanation, everyone realized what had happened.
"I... I didn't know that... Dammit! How could he have such a pathetic weakness?!" Champa cursed.
"The next match will be the winner, Piccolo, against Cabba of Universe 6!"
Piccolo looked at the small youth before him and narrowed his eyes. He knew this boy was a Saiyan, but he didn't know if he could transform into a Super Saiyan yet.
"Begin!"
The moment the announcer's voice fell, both fighters vanished.
Flash! Flash! Flash! Flash! Flash!
They entered a high-speed clash, but as they traded blows, Piccolo began to gauge Cabba's true level. He realized the boy was green.
With a heavy punch, Piccolo forced Cabba back. "What's wrong? Not going Super Saiyan? If this is all you've got, you're no match for me!"
Cabba looked genuinely confused. "Super Saiyan? What's that? Is it that form Mr. Son Goku used? I don't know how to do that. This is the first I've ever heard of a 'Super Saiyan'..."
Piccolo paused, surprised. "You don't know?"
"No, I don't. Could you... could you teach me?"
Seeing Cabba's sincere plea for instruction, Piccolo's eye twitched.
"I'm not even a Saiyan! How would I know how to teach you? Besides, you're from Universe 6. Even if I knew, why would I help you?"
Piccolo grumbled the retort, but then a cold smirk played across his lips. "Since you can't transform, I can breathe easy."
"HAA!"
Piccolo flared his Ki. With lightning speed, he lunged forward and buried a fist into Cabba's stomach. The speed was so great that Cabba had no time to react.
"Gah! Ack—!"
A wave of agonizing pain radiated through Cabba's abdomen. He coughed up a spray of saliva, his body doubling over involuntarily. Piccolo didn't give him a second to recover; with a powerful roundhouse kick, he sent Cabba sailing clear out of the arena.
"Cabba has been knocked out of the ring! Piccolo wins again!"
Piccolo was decisive. Once he knew his opponent's limits, he didn't waste time. If it had been Vegeta or Goku, they might have actually stopped the match for a live training session.
"Nice one, Piccolo!"
"Only one left! Uncle Piccolo might actually sweep this!"
The Universe 7 section erupted in cheers.
"Dammit! Another loss?! Hey, Hit! If you lose, you know what the consequences are!" Champa threatened.
Hit ignored the threat entirely. With a calm, stoic expression, he walked toward the ring.
"Next up, the winning Piccolo will face the final fighter of Universe 6: Hit!"
"Rest easy, Lord Champa. He may be the last one, but since it's Hit, there won't be any problems," Vados said, attempting to soothe the agitated God of Destruction.
"Hmph. He'd better win!" Champa snapped. He wanted to beat Beerus more than anything.
"Oh? Is the big shot finally coming out?"
Son Goku leaned forward, his expression turning serious. He was finally going to see what this man was capable of.
"Fight!"
"Hah!"
The moment the referee signaled the start, Piccolo powered up. He felt a chilling sense of dread coming from Hit. This man was dangerous.
Piccolo took the initiative, throwing a punch at Hit's face.
Boom!
The next thing the audience saw was Piccolo flying backward across the ring.
"Wait... was that Time Power?"
Bulma's eyes widened. She hadn't expected to see someone from Universe 6 wielding the power of time.
She was intimately familiar with Time Power—her husband was the God of Destruction of Time, after all. She had even learned the basics of the divine techniques of his office. She knew exactly how troublesome temporal abilities could be.
Piccolo looked at Hit in shock. He hadn't seen the man move at all. "This... how is this possible?!"
He stared at Hit warily, his mind racing. I need to test him again.
Piccolo lunged again. Just like before, he was struck by an invisible attack and sent spiraling away.
"Gah!"
Piccolo wiped a streak of blood from his lip. "Heavy hands... You hit me at least three times just now. Is it time manipulation?"
Hit looked at Piccolo with a flicker of genuine surprise. He hadn't expected the Namekian to be sharp enough to deduce the secret of his "Time Skip" so quickly.
"Correct. I am using Time Power. I am skipping forward 0.1 seconds. But what does it matter if you know?"
"I thought so. In that case, I'll have to give it everything I've got."
"HAA!"
Piccolo clenched his fists. A golden aura began to simmer around him. Suddenly, he was engulfed in a brilliant golden pillar of light. When the light subsided, his skin had turned a deep, vibrant orange.
Orange Piccolo had arrived!
The transformation sent a shockwave of surprise through the crowd.
"What? Piccolo can transform too?!"
Goku stared in awe. "What incredible power!"
Vegeta's eyes narrowed. This power was on par with Super Saiyan 4 or a Super Saiyan God.
Gohan, however, let out a small smile. "You finally used it, Uncle Piccolo."
Champa's jaw dropped. He whipped his head toward Vados. "Hey, Vados! Can Namekians transform now?!"
"Ho ho ho. Perhaps he is a special case... Every race produces a few outliers, don't they?"
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